Get Rid of that Clutter

I’m sure that if I were to do one of those silly tests that asks ‘what’s your elf name’, or ‘when I walk into your space, what’s the first thing I would notice’, the answer would probably involve the words ‘clutter’ and ‘books’.  I have good intentions of cleaning up the clutter, I really do, but then I look at the mess, and am immediately overwhelmed.  So a book about getting rid of clutter seems just like something I could use to advantage.  Of course I got the book The Minimalist Home: A Room-by-Room Guide to a Decluttered, Refocused Life (Waterbrook, 2018), by Joshua Becker, several weeks ago, and it’s been cluttering up an end table in the living room since. One of Becker’s suggestions is that we find a better place for all those things we want to keep handy so we can grab them at a moment’s notice. If they’re stored neatly they are less of a distraction, and we can focus better.

                I thought for sure that I would learn a lesson when my siblings and I cleaned out our parents’ home a couple of years ago. The amount of stuff that they had accumulated after being in that house for well over 50 years was astonishing. I thought that I would start cleaning out our house as soon as we returned home. But the day hasn’t come yet. 

                Until, maybe, now. This book is written in such a way that I’m motivated to at least start the process. There is no shaming involved, but plenty of encouragement. Becker talks about the advantages of decluttering, and some of those advantages are pretty compelling.  Intimacy, less distraction, a sense of peace, having space to gather and talk, rooms being used for their stated purpose, not to mention the financial benefits that come with not having to buy every ‘latest and greatest’ item to hit the market.

                I also liked his approach to decluttering.  Take it as it comes, start with one room at a time (and he even lists areas in the house in order of how easy they usually are to declutter. Along the way he asks questions like is it needed or wanted. Does moving something help the room meet its purpose? He also offers hints like 3piles: keep, throw away, or donate/recycle.

                I started going through my closet (I know better, but Becker reminds the reader anyway to no try to declutter your spouse’s side of the closet). My wife asked what I was doing and all I could say was that I was reading a dangerous book.

                With winter upon us, maybe I’ll have some time to get through some more piles over the next few months.

                4/5

                I received an unedited proof copy of this book as part of the publishers ‘book launch program.  I was not required to write a positive review, just offer my honest opinion.